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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Third Annual Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 3 - WEDNESDAY

I am participating in the Third Annual Knit & Crochet Blog Week (my second year). This week, each day will have a topic and those of us that are participating will write about said topic. The higher powers that be (i.e., the organizers) have thrown in a "Wildcard" topic, just in case there's a topic that just doesn't appeal to our tastes.So, without further adieu........

Your Knitting Or Crochet HeroBlog about someone in fiber crafts who truly inspires you. There are not too many guidelines for this, it's really about introducing your readers to someone who they might not know who is an inspiration to you. It might be a family member or friend, a specific designer or writer, indie dyer or another blogger. If you are writing about a knitting designer and you have knitted some of their designs, don't forget to show them off. Remember to get permission from the owner if you wish to use another person's pictures.

An inspiration to me...........wow. There are so many ways I could go with this...I'm not even sure where to begin. But, I already know I'm going to have trouble with this...so I'll probably talk about three "famous" ones and three of my other favorites. It's going to be a difficult decision, though...oh well, onward!

If we're talking about fibery knittery love, I'm going to go with Susan B. Anderson, no questions asked. First of all, she's local. There's nothing better than being able to put a real face to famous knitters. She's a member of our local knitters' guild, has spoken at our local knitters' guild (a couple times, actually), and she makes super duper crazy cute things for babies and children. If you're unfamiliar with her, she's the author of the Itty-Bitty series: Itty-Bitty Hats, Itty-Bitty Nursery, and Itty-Bity Toys. She's also written another book called Spud & Chloe At the Farm. From what I've heard, she's also got another one headed to publishers soon...

I also have a fibery love obsession for Sarah, The Plucky Knitter. I was introduced to her at the Madison Knitters' Guild Knit-In not long after I started knitting....so maybe it was March of 2009. I immediately fell in love with her yarns. She's an independent dyer, for those of you that are unfamiliar, and has a grey scale that I can't even begin to describe. Of course, she does many other colors, too, but her grey scale is what got me hooked...and then the greens...and then the sock yarn.......let's just face it, I love her yarns and her colors. Also, she's very personable and has an impeccable memory...or she's just really good at faking it. I like to think her memory is just that good.

Then, of course, there's the Yarn Harlot. I haven't met a knitter yet that doesn't love her for some reason or another. I love her for her honesty about knitting. She does what all knitters do......but she writes about it. I mean, one of her more recent posts, My Inner Knitter, was just hilarious for me to read because I know that same inner knitter and she likes to throw tantrums, too. She tries to keep herself grounded with knitting (and weaving and spinning and teaching and writing)...but she's as nuts as the rest of us.

Those are, of course, the better known of my fibery knittery love affairs. I don't think any of them know that I have a fibery love obsession with all of them. I'm perfectly okay with that.

But there are..............others. Yes. Others. They may or may not be famous (it depends on how you define that word)...but they're off the beaten path, so to speak...not someone that would normally (ever?) come up in everyday knitting conversation.

Let's start with one of my favorite blogs, written by the lovely Emma: Knit one, Stitch one, Save one? First of all, she's from Nottingham (or, rather, she lives there)........in the United Kingdom........you know, across the pond (well, it's across the pond from me)....... I don't know how I found her blog but I suspect it was from another blog I read or, perhaps, she became a rabid reader of my own blog and I checked hers out and started having a fibery knittery love affair with her blog. I honestly don't remember. But, let's talk about Emma...first of all, she's a fabulous knitter. I have proof in my own house. Awhile ago...seriously, quite awhile ago...she had lamented about how difficult it was to find proper sock yarn where she lives that doesn't cost a couple of appendages to obtain or she would have to order online (and let's face it, we like to touch what we buy). So, one other blog reader and I decided that she needed to have some sock yarn love. I went stash shopping and found a few skeins that I thought she may like (including yarn from Sun Valley Fibers, Spud & Chloe, and Blackberry Ridge) and sent them her way. She sent me a HUGE bar of Cadbury chocolate (which I love and seriously, this bar was HUGE) and a hat for Little Man.

It was dark when I took the photo but the hat is Nottingham and was done in a dark blue Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran...that just refused to show up properly (and the flash just made it worse). Also, it fit his head perfectly.

But that's not why I love reading her blog. So, aside from the fact that she's English and lives in a fabulous part of the UK, she's just amazing. She's in medical school and I think she's doing her residency right now...or maybe she's just doing some of her rotations. I'm not really sure. But she's going to be a doctor. This isn't something I could do...not that I'm queasy about blood or needles or anything like that but I just don't think I have the brain capacity to be a doctor. Psychiatrist, maybe...but not a proper doctor, you know, a doctor of medicine. Nope, that's not me. Oh, and not only is she going to be a doctor, she partakes in competitive trampolining. Apparently this is an Olympic sport. I had no idea......we have nothing like that around here. Gymnastics are practically unheard of, even though the Hammtwins are from just down the road (okay, so Milwaukee is an hour's drive away...close enough when you're in a country that's over 2000 miles in length).......so to find someone that does competitive trampolining was extremely fun. I think I'd probably fall off that thing. Just sayin'. Let's also not forget that we have similar taste in music. It's getting increasingly difficult to find anyone that has similar taste in music to mine that is on the "normal" side of the bell curve (or, rather, knows how to fit in with "normal" society). Husband told me a couple weeks ago that I sounded embarrassed when I told him my favorite band was Nine Inch Nails when we first met...........because I know I don't fit the traditional "industrial/techno/pseudogoth" type that you normally find listening to Trent Reznor and all his glory (or KMFDM or Rammstein - all of which Little Man likes, by the way). So, I think what sealed the deal was the taste in music.

Let's just face it, Emma is grand :)

Next up in my short list of other knittery/bloggery types that I have fibery knittery love affairs with: Stefanie at Knitspiring Odyssey. Again, I'm not quite sure how I found her blog...but I found it and I've been having a fibery love affair ever since. She's a teacher-turned-stay-at-home-mom that is from the Bay Area (read: San Francisco, CA). I had originally assumed that she was Hawai'ian, at least in part, but it turned out that she wasn't......just loved the place, like I did. Unfortunately, I can't even begin to fit in with Hawai'i (I'm pretty sure I was called, "haole" on several occasions while I was there for three weeks when I was 21 years old - and if you don't know, "haole" can be used as a derogatory term for someone that isn't native Hawai'ian...or it can be said as a fact...but the way I heard it toward me, it wasn't nice). Anyway.....I think what keeps me going to her blog is the fact that she's both a knitter and crocheter. I have tried crochet and I kind of get it...but she gets it more than I do. She's been working on a stripped blanket that I'm falling in love with and I'm trying to decide if I need to whip out the hooks and make one of my own. Also, the fact that she's a stay-at-home-mom jibes well with me as I, too, am a stay-at-home-mom (for the time being). Also.......and this one of my absolute favorite things about her: I don't think I've ever heard a mean or disparaging thing come out of her. She's always trying to stay on the positive side of things. I need to read things like that to keep me going sometimes, especially lately.

And lastly, Carrie (commonly known as IrishGirlieKnits) over at We Do Not Have a Knitting Problem. I fully blame her for my love of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock. She's a designer of socks and cowls and scarves and hats and so many other things, she lives in the Bay Area, and she has a small obsession with Kollage Yarns and Socks That Rock. I'll say it again: I fully blame her for getting me hooked on Socks That Rock. I haven't tried my Kollage Yarns yet......but, again, I have some because of her. She's fabulous........and if you feel the urge, try some of her designs. I have a few in my queue that need attention soon. She's also got two little doggies (Bailey and Puddles, I believe) and is a rabid Notre Dame football fan. I'm still trying to figure out if she's in love with Notre Dame because of it's Irish roots, because they usually have a fabulous football team, or if she went to school there (or some combination thereof). Either way, we hear about the Fighting Irish on her blog quite often during football season...

OMGosh! You are too sweet, Renee! Mahalo nui loa for being a fan. I love your blunt honesty and details in your posts.BTW, I can get bitchy about things that aren't knitty related. I think we met one another via Come Blog-a-Long?

Thank you so much for the glowing biography, you made me blush so much and have literally made my day XD. Definitely a case of great minds think alike!

Also never be ashamed of Nine Inch Nails! They are so amazing live, and their songs are some of my favourites ever, so meaningful. i will admit that when I saw them with a couple of friends, we were dancing so madly that a large circle formed around us... It's great that Little Man likes them, I kmow I could sing along to Motorhead at aged 2.5.